Chemistry Clicks For Tv's Siblings

January 01, 1999|By Barry Koltnow, Knight-Ridder/Tribune.

CULVER CITY, Calif. — Marie is not being a little bit country, and Donny is not being a little bit rock 'n' roll. On this particular afternoon in a rehearsal hall on the Sony lot in Culver City, the Osmond siblings are being a little bit Christmas.

The brother-sister team is running through a series of seasonal tunes for their three-month-old syndicated talk show, "Donny & Marie," which is taped on the lot. In Chicago, it airs at noon weekdays on WFLD-Ch. 32.

Donny likes how the rehearsal is going; Marie does not. One particular song is not working for her and, finally, she tells her brother and the show's musical director that it might work better as a solo for Donny.

There is no hint of rancor or jealousy in her voice. She is neither frustrated nor upset. She feels the song should be a solo by her brother, and Donny does not question her decision. They move effortlessly to the next song.

That quick exchange in rehearsal emphasizes what is already obvious to anyone who has seen the new show; there are no other co-hosts quite like Donny and Marie Osmond on television. They sing and dance, as well as talk, there is the familial connection, and even more important, they have worked together before.

"We have a history together and a chemistry together," Marie said. "We truly believe we can do anything, and that comes from years and years of working together."

"People can tell from watching the show that we are individuals," Donny added. "But we have a special bond and a way of communicating that other hosts can't have. Ninety-nine percent of the time on stage, we know what the other is thinking. We may want to end up in a different place with a guest, but we understand where the other is coming from."

Donny, 41, and Marie, 39, are working as a team for the first time since the end of their popular variety show, "Donny and Marie," which went off the air in 1979 after a four-year run on ABC.

When the show ended, they went back to the solo careers they had been pursuing when the teenagers were coupled as a team.

Marie, the remarried mother of six, continued recording country records and received rave reviews as Maria in the national touring company of the hit musical "The Sound of Music." She also runs a thriving collectible-doll business.

The father of five boys, Donny also continued to record after the variety show, and starred for six years in a touring production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

"Five years ago, I wouldn't have been ready to work with Donny again," Marie said. "The timing is right now. The timing is perfect.